Tweaked
by May-B-Madd
Summary: When Hamish proposes to Alice, she accepts and never goes to Underland. Two friends at the engagement party follow the dejected White Rabbit down the rabbit hole, where they find out it was supposed to be Alice not them, but the Oraculum is being Tweaked.
1. The Tumble

**Chapter 1**

_The Tumble_

Alice's engagement party was rather boring, but then, everything was boring to her. Even the supposedly energetic dancing was dull.

"Anna?" She turned, her long brown hair swishing lightly and her green eyes flashing, to look at her best friend. The only bit of color at the party, and even then her dress was still a rather flat color of yellow. Her dark blond hair was done up with sparkling white pins though, and it made her friends' blue eyes shine.

"What are you thinking this time?"

"There's no color, Liza. It's all too white and grey for me."

"Then why didn't you wear something colorful. Blue would have been acceptable for the occasion."

"My mother set this out for me. Apparently it's the 'highest fashion' in Paris."

"Let me guess, you'd rather be wearing black."

"With a red scarf and jewelry."

"How did I know?"

"I haven't the slightest idea."

"It couldn't have to do with the fact that we've known each other since we were five, could it?"

"That might have something to do with it."

"Oh, look, there goes Alice off with Hamish's mother. Do you think she's being told how to take care of him with his weak stomach?"

"I have no doubt. Did you see –" Anna trailed off, then rubbed her eyes.

"The rabbit? You saw it too?"

"Yes. My question is did you see the waistcoat?"

The two of them looked at each other in disbelief. Hallucinations were not so uncommon. Shared hallucinations on the other hand usually meant that what they had seen wasn't a hallucination. They floated with the crowd towards the gazebo as their minds began to go into overdrive.

They watched absently as Hamish pulled Alice up into the gazebo and knelt onto one knee. His ghastly hair glinted, brittle, in the weak sunlight that managed to make its' way beneath the roof. Anna wondered briefly how such ginger hair could be so mundane.

"Alice Kingsley, will you be my wife?" he asked before giving a sudden practiced smile.

"Well, you're a Lord, and I don't want to be like Aunt Imogen," she glanced in the direction of the mad old woman at the back of the group, "Yes."

The courtyard broke out into bright, stuffy applause and Alice and Hamish began to circle among the guests, their white clothing blending easily with that of the other aristocracy.

Liza nudged Anna and pointed toward the hedges, where a rather dejected looking white rabbit was holding a drooping pocket watch. It began to hop forlornly off towards the forest.

"Come on, Anna! Let's follow it!" Liza bounded after the rabbit with unrivaled enthusiasm. Anna could do nothing but chase inelegantly after her, panting as she came up to her friend, who was crouching over a very large rabbit hole.

"Anna, look at it! I could probably fit in this thing! I wonder how deep it is." Liza leaned forward and promptly fell. Anna grasped helplessly at her friends' shoe and felt herself lose balance.

If Anna had been the swearing type, she would have made her mother very disappointed in that moment. As it was, she gasped and followed her friend down the rabbit hole.

It was like no rabbit hole she had ever seen. The depth, for one thing, was extraordinary. Add the multitude of objects that seemed to be suspended in the air they were currently falling through, and she knew that this was no ordinary rabbit hole.

Liza bounced off of a rather dusty bed , sending puffs of grey up into Anna's face. They continued dropping until they hit a structure of some kind and broke through the roof, hung upside down for a moment, and dropped, painfully, to the floor.

"This is unusual," murmured the momentarily stunned Liza.

"At least it is much more entertaining than the engagement party."

"Yes. Do you think this is a dream?"

Anna stood and brushed herself off before she reached down and pinched her friend, hard.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You wanted to know it this was a dream."

"Sadist."

"Thank you."

Anna helped her friend up off the floor and they looked around. They were surrounded by doors of every shape and size. There were small doors, tall doors, doors with intricate engravings, doors shaped like hearts, and doors with no doorknob.

The only other thing of note about the room was a small glass table with a bottle sitting delicately on top of it next to an insignificant looking key.

Liza picked up the crystalline bottle carefully, twisting the tag around to reveal the words 'Drink Me' on the other side. She lifted the bottle to her lips and took a tiny sip while Anna picked the up the key to get a better look at it.

"Anna! Look at me! I'm short!"

Anna looked down from where she was examining the key, and down some more until she was looking at a pale pile of yellow silk with a miniature Liza sitting , wrapped in white cloth from her underskirt. She couldn't help but compare her friend to a slightly demented egg.

"Anna! Pass me the key! I want to try it in the door over there! The one that's my size!"

Anna smiled indulgently and passed the petit key to the petit Liza. Lisa immediately scampered over to the door and placed the key into the keyhole. She twisted it open with an excited cry and ran out into the exposed sunlight.

Panicking slightly, Anna grasped at the crystal bottle and took a hurried sip. She felt an intense itching for a moment as the ceiling grew farther away, then she tied a makeshift dress around herself and scrambled out the door after her energetic friend.

...

Thank you for reading my story, or at least attempting to. I appreciate any and all REVIEWS to my work, especially if you're telling me what I can fix. I hope you've enjoyed it so far.

Sincerely,

May-B-Madd


	2. The Timetable

**Chapter 2**

_The Timetable_

Liza was shell shocked from the moment she rushed into the sunlight. This place, whatever it may be, was amazing! It was so _bright !_ The animals were strange too. There was a dragonfly that was literally a tiny dragon with the wings of an insect! And the flowers had faces! It was absolutely marvelous!

There was a quiet skittering behind her and Anna came out of the darkness behind the doorway and into the blinding sunlight.

"Look at it, Anna! Have you ever seen such a place?"

"No."

"Even you couldn't be bored with such a place! And here I thought that by going to Alice's party we'd be bored into madness in hopes that we could entertain ourselves! Come on let's go explore!"

Liza abruptly grabbed Anna's hand and tugged her down the path through the twittering flowers.

"McTwisp! I thought you said you didn't bring anyone back with you!" shrieked a shrill voice that seemed to belong to a dormouse with some kind of needle in her belt like a sword.

The white rabbit looked back at them with a jumbled expression. A large dodo bird in a jacket stood behind him and two rather round twins looked at them with confusion.

"Oh! Hello! Could you tell us where we are?We saw you trying to get Alice's attention, and we followed you!" chirped Liza to McTwisp, who was looking more scared by the second.

"Liza, give the poor rabbit some personal space please."

"Oops."

"I apologize for my friend. My name is Annabeth Ableman, and this is Elizabeth Humphries."

"Anna! I can introduce myself! "said Liza indignantly," You can call me Liza! What are your names?"

"Oh, I'm Tweedle-dee. He's Tweedle-dum."

"I'm Tweedle dum and he's Tweedle-dee."

"Nivens McTwisp."

"Mallymkun."

"Uilleam, the Dodo bird. And I think we should consult Absolem. Neither one of them is Alice after all."

"What's so special about Alice? "asked Liza, her blue eyes bright with honest curiosity.

"She's supposed to slay the Jabberwocky. And she was supposed to follow McTwisp down here! But we got you and you're Not Alice!" said Mallymkun indignantly as she scampered away, the others following her less energetically.

"No, I suppose we're not." Said Anna quietly as they followed the odd group through the chattering flowers and into a smoke covered clearing.

"And who are you?" inquired a rather large patch of smoke towards the back of the clearing.

"I'm Liza! Who are you?"

" Yes, you are Completely Liza. I am Absolem. "

Liza stepped up and fanned the smoke away, revealing a large, vibrantly blue caterpillar that was smoking some sort of odd pipe. He was lounging on a relatively large, brightly spotted mushroom, and he wore a monocle that made one of his eyes seem a great deal larger than the other.

Absolem inhaled deeply from his pipe and exhaled into the foggy patch of air in front of him. He adjusted his monocle, and squinted through the smoke at the second figure he didn't recognize.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Anna, but I'm not quite sure who that is yet."

"One should know who they are."

"One should."

Absolem leaned back and inhaled once again. He watched her intensely for a moment before endlessly exhaling.

"You are not who everyone will know you are."

"Things are not always as they seem."

"Indeed. Unroll the Oraculum."

Mallymkun scampered up a smallish toadstool nearby and pushed open an extremely yellowed scroll with her feet.

"What is it?" whispered Liza to McTwisp, sensing the mood.

"It's a calendrical compendium of Underland." He murmured back, his voice full of awe.

"Underland? Is that where we are?"

"Yes. "

"What's wrong with it? Isn't there supposed to be something on it?"

McTwisp looked twitchily at the scroll, his nose fluttering as he looked down at the partially inked parchment, his dark pink eyes widened almost comically as he took in the disappearing days. He watched as the Frabjous day faded slowly in front of his eyes, the ink dripping down off the waxy surface of the scroll.

"It seems," said Absolem calmly as he puffed on his pipe," that someone made a decision that Time did not expect them to make. He has to erase everything and start over from yesterday."

Anna leaned forward slightly, and dipped all of her fingers in the stream of ink that dribbled off the side of the parchment, dying the tips black.

"That won't come off you know." Said Absolem absently as he readjusted his monocle with one of his four hands, "I think it would be best to wait and consult to Oraculum again after it has been Tweaked. Until then, perhaps you can stay with the Hatter. He's quite mad, but there's always tea at least."

"I will not have them staying with us!" shrieked Mallymkun, her tiny face contorted with righteous fury.

"Now, Mally,"said McTwisp,"they most certainly can't stay with us, we have to work for the Red Queen after all. Surely there must be some place where you can put them."

The dormouse's face twisted a bit more before it finally relaxed into a complacent frown.

"Alright, but only until the Oraculum has finished being Tweaked. You two had best follo-"

She was cut off by a large, dusty creature crashing through the greenery. Its' eyes were beady and black and its' face was squashed, as though it had run into the side of a cliff.

Liza barely had time to comprehend that, yes it might be a good idea to run, when it swatted her down and snarled at her, saliva oozing down from its rugged teeth as it snarled.

Then there was snarl from behind her and the creature released her to face Anna, who had twisted into an animalistic crouch. Liza ran faster than she ever had before away from the clearing as Anna leapt for those tiny, beady eyes.

Anna scrabbled at them with ink stained fingers leaving long, bloody scars before she vaulted away, running madly after her companion. They followed the Tweedle's out of the vegetation and out onto the road, where they grasped their knees as they tried to catch their breath.

"What was that?" asked a breathless Liza.

"The Bandersnatch." SaidTweedle-dum.

"It's almost as bad as the Jubjub bir-" Tweedle-dee never got to finish his sentence as he and his brother were carried off by a shrieking salt-and-pepper colored bird.

"That was probably the Jubjub bird." Said Anna, her hands still stained from the ink and the vibrant blood of the Bandersnatch.

"How did you manage to harm that, bandersnatch, thing anyway?"

"I just did. It was actually kind of fun."

"Sadist," panted Liza," which way do we go now?"

"I'll follow you."

Liza shrugged and straightened before walking towards the gnarled trees to their right. Anna rose and twisted her neck until a crackling noise echoed around them before she made her way up next to her friend.

...

Thanks you for enduring through my second chapter. Any comments you have would be appreciated. If you have something you want to say and don't want to review, feel free to PM me. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

May-B-Madd


	3. The Tea

**Chapter 3**

_The Tea _

They made their way in almost-silence for a long time. The only sounds they heard the crunching of their own footsteps in the gravel covered , brown leaves.

"Well, what have we here? Two girls lost in the Tulgey Woods? I don't suppose old Chessur can help you out can he?" came an obnoxiously loud voice from in front of them.

The cat hovering in front of them was interesting in many ways. For one thing it was _hovering _in front of them, but it was also smiling and its' fur was the most peculiar shade of blue.

Liza walked up to him, looking deep into his very blue eyes, and smiled back at him.

"Hello, Chessur. I'm Liza. This is Anna. I don't suppose you know where we can find a mouse named Mallymkun or a mad Hatter? Absolem wanted us to stay with them while the Oraculum finished Tweaking."

"I would suppose I do know," Said the surprised Chessur as he disintegrated into smoke and reformed in front of Anna ,"but why should I help you get there?"

Anna shrugged and peered over Chessur's shoulder at Liza who was looking back at them curiously. Chessur followed her gaze just as Liza appeared behind him and started scratching him behind the ears.

He resisted for a moment before he started to purr. Then, slowly drifting, he dropped lightly into Liza's arms as she melted him into a pile of blue feline goo.

"I can scratch your ears until we get there." She said happily, as he pointed in the direction they were supposed to go.

Anna chuckled and followed her friend and her complacent cat in the direction the cat was indicating. His purrs filled the silence as they padded their way through the Tulgey Woods.

Soon they exited the mist into a greyish clearing with a dilapidated windmill sagging forlornly in the background. The clearing was covered with soft tones of grey, and it seemed to speak of colorful times that had faded away.

There were three mismatched tables in front of the wilting windmill. They were covered with tea things of all kinds. Large and small and smaller tea things could be found in every shape imaginable. They were twisted, and they were broken. Not a single teacup matched another teacup.

At the head of the tables there was a Hatter. There really was no other way to define him. His hair was such a fluorescent orange that it made the white of his skin seem that much whiter, and above his prominent cheek bones his dark green, almost black, eyes were surrounded with faded tones of deep burgundy.

"Whoever you are you're late for tea!" screamed a twitching hare as he chucked a perfectly nice teacup at Anna.

If Anna had had time to roll her eyes she would have, but instead she snatched the teacup out from in front of her face, and plunked it down easily on the table, leaving smears of dried bandersnatch blood on the smooth white porcelain.

"Anna! You saved something from destruction!"

"Can't help it. It was a perfectly innocent teacup, I couldn't let it smash into bits."

"Teacups are the only thing you have any pity for aren't they?"

"Not just teacups but tea things in general."

"Sadist."

"Neither one of you are Alice. I'd know her anywhere." Said the Hatter morosely as his bow drooped more than it had before.

Chessur, having finally regained his senses when Liza stopped scratching his ears, evaporated to a seat at the end of the table.

"Not Alice? I suppose not, but the blond one does give a rather nice ear scratch. What did you wipe on this teacup? It's not coming off."

"Bandersnatch blood. I have yet to find a place where I can wash it off."

"How," interjected Mally fiercely," did you get bandersnatch blood on your hands?"

"The same way I get any other kind of blood on my hands."

Mally looked at the blood that was caked on top of the ink from the Oraculum and shuddered at the red color of it, then hauled a pot of cold tea over to Anna and dumped it unceremoniously over her hands. The red splashed away, leaving only the black smudged tips of Anna's fingers behind.

"Spoon." said the Hare, gaining everyone's attention as the red soaked lifelessly into the grass.

Anna rolled her eyes, snagged a napkin hanging from the edge of the table closest to her and began wiping her hands clear of tea.

"Well," said Liza,"I hate to break the silence, but is there any way we could be our own sizes again? I would love to actually be able to lift a decent sized teacup."

"Ah!" interjected the Hatter as he began rummaging in his pockets, "Here we are! Upelkuchen! Only a nibble though, or you'll be too big."

Liza nibbled, once, and abruptly found her clothes growing smaller. They stretched until they were almost to the point that they were ripping, then they stopped and Liza looked around. Anna was smiling benignly near her foot, the front of her white dress spattered with what seemed to be red paint.

Liza held the upelkuchen down for Anna, who nibbled delicately on the edge of it. Then Anna began to grow, her clothes stretching as well, until she was just a little shorter than her friend.

Liza gave the remaining piece of upelkuchen back to the Hatter and sat down next to the Hare. She laced her fingers together and looked at each of the other members of the table almost playfully .

"Now, who wants to tell us about Underland? Because we really have no idea what's going on."

"Well," said Chessur as he sipped his tea,"I suppose that this begins with the Red queen on Horovendoush Day."

"Wher' ye left us ta rot ye –"

"Hatter!" shrieked Mallymkun as the Hatter reached for Chessur's neck.

"Sorry!" choked out the Hatter, his hand retracting jerkily. Anna saw his eyes were no longer the dark green she had noticed when they had arrived but were instead flecked with a harsh gold.

"On Horovendoush day, the White Queen, Mirana of Mamoreal, was out at a festival at the Hightopp Villiage when her sister, Iracebeth of Crims, crashed the party. Her Jabberwocky burned the town to a smoldering pile of ash. The White Queen survived because her royal hatter, Tarrant Hightopp, led her away from the area, but she lost her crown and the Vorpal sword, the only weapon capable of slaying the Jabberwocky, in the process." Finished Chessur sadly.

"When Hatter returned , he found his entire family murdered in cold blood by Ilosovic Stayne, the Knave of Hearts, and the Jabberwocky at the order of Iracebeth of Crims. Iracebeth took her sister's crown and became the Queen of Underland."Said Mallymkun, her expression morose as she completed the tale.

"Down wi' te Bluddy Red Queen!" yelled the Hatter, his eyes completely yellow and brogue evident as he rose viciously from his seat.

"Hatter!"said Mally.

"Sorry." He gagged out as he placed himself in his chair.

"So that's how you went mad. You know you remind me of-"

She was interrupted by the baying of a hound as it approached. She paused and looked out toward the forest as soldiers bustled after a brown bloodhound. Cantering with the soldiers was a horse covered in glinting black armor, and on his back was a man with a heart shaped patch over his left eye. As you looked at him the temperature seemed to drop and you felt the urge to run as far as you could go to get away from him.

"Hello." said Anna as she sipped her tea.

"Hello. Is this where the scent leads Bayard?"

"Yes, sir." Said the hound, his brown eyes regretful.

"Scent?" Asked Liza, her eyes glittering curiously.

"The scent," sneered the man ,"of human girl."

"That'd be us then, but if you're looking for an Alice you won't be finding one. I'm an Anna and she's a Liza. Though I'd be quite happy to go to the Red Queen with you. I'd really like to meet her, she seems just the type of person I'd make friends with."

"Does this mean we won't be friends anymore?" asked Liza.

"Unless you want to work for the Red Queen too."

"No, not really. I prefer wandering about doing nothing."

"Then yes, we won't be friends anymore."

"Pity. I'll see you later then?"

"Most likely."

"So neither one of you is Alice?"

"No. I'll go with you to prove it too ,whoever you are."

"Ilosovic Stayne."

Anna rose from her chair and drained the last dregs of tea from the bottom of the cup.

"Well, Ilosovic Stayne, what are we waiting for?"

He gave her a look that said clearly that she was half-mad and directed his horse away from the tables where Liza was giggling madly. She followed him easily, trotting to his right side as they faded into the mist.

As the figures travelled out of hearing distance Liza stopped laughing rather abruptly. Her face turned down into her tea and her smile fell until it was not a smile anymore.

"She's really gone isn't she?" Liza muttered to herself, "I suppose I'll just have to try and fix her again then. She must be broken if she's going to serve someone like the Red Queen. "

"Are you alright?" asked Chessur, his expression concerned.

"Yes. I just can't be crazy anymore. I have to be not crazy."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Anna and I agreed when we became friends that if we ever found something worth fighting for we'd stop being friends to go defend it, because what we thought was worth fighting for was so different. Anna thought bloodlust was worth it and I though kindness was worth defending more. "

"So," said Liza in a muted tone, "we agreed that we should act different from ourselves while we were friends so that we wouldn't be sad when the other left, because we never really knew them. It doesn't help though. I'm still sad."

Liza sipped her tea and looked up at Chessur, who was hovering in front of her with wide eyes.

"Cup." said the March Hare with wide eyes as he looked through the broken base of a teacup.

...

Thank you once again for continuing on with my story. I've noticed my characters need help desperately, but I have no idea how to fix it. If you have any ideas please tell me via REVIEW or PM.

Sincerely,

May-B-Madd


	4. The Towers

**Chapter 4**

_The Towers_

Anna smiled brightly at the crimson color of the palace at Salazan Grum. It was so colorful that her eyes almost hurt. It was simply stunning compared to the monochrome of the Overland engagement party.

She followed the Knave as he escorted her into the huge antechamber where the queen sat on her heart shaped throne. The Knave had to be at least seven feet tall. Maybe he'd had a bit too much of that upelkuchen.

Anna almost giggled at the thought of the Knave sitting sown and eating upelkuchen with his tea.

"Who is this?" asked the queen in a shrill voice. The question snapped Anna out of her reverie. She finally took a good look at the Red Queen.

Her head was quite too large for her body and her hair was just as big as her head. It suited her though. The crimson and white make-up she wore clashed beautifully and she was not a dull figure at all.

"This, my Queen, is Annabeth. She comes from the world above." Said Stayne, his voice silky.

"Well? Have you anything to say for yourself Annabeth?"

"I quite like your palace. It suits you well. It's not boring at all. Where I come from everyone wears white or grey. Nasty color if there's nothing else to go with it. Oh, and I like your hair, it's very pretty. I'm not very pretty, I'd have to have a bigger head to be pretty."

"You said your name was Annabeth?"

"Well, he said my name was Annabeth," she gestured flutteringly towards Stayne for a moment," and that is my name. You can call me whatever you want to call me though."

"Maid!" shrieked the Iracebeth, her voice echoing masterfully through the hall as a petit woman in a black and red dress rushed forward.

"Take Beth and get her some proper clothing. Something with feathers. Go. NOW! Beth, go with her."

Anna curtsied and followed the maid, who had a rather large mole on the left side of her chin, out of the hall. They made their way up a spiral staircase until they reached a landing somewhere around the tenth floor. The maid opened an ancient looking door and motioned her inside.

The room was filled with matching wardrobes. They were all the same size and in the shape of hearts. The maid opened the door of the wardrobe closest to the heart shaped window and pulled out a somewhat fluffy black dress with spiky salt-and pepper feathers at the waistline.

"Do you like this ma'am?"

"Yes. Very much. Do you have a name?"

"My name is Calina ,ma'am."

"Calina, is there a hairpiece that goes with this dress?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Could you get that for me as well and then help me change?"

"Of course ma'am. That's what I'm here for." Said the confused maid as she pulled an unassuming headdress from the bottom of the wardrobe,"If I may ask why are you being so nice to me. I'm just a maid."

Anna smiled and leaned forward secretively.

"You hear everything and no one ever notices you. My bet is that you know more than anyone else in the castle about what's going on in the dark corners. If I'm nice to you, you might join me for a bit of gossip in the mornings and I might learn more about Underland."

"So you want to know more about Underland?"

"Yes. And I won't ask the Queen. She is,after all, the Queen."

Calina beamed at her and began to chatter as she helped the Queen's new favorite change into her new dress.

Anna did what she did best, she listened. Learning that the dog Bayard that had brought her to the palace had a wife and pups down in the dungeons, and that they had been captured for running messages back and forth between the rebellion and the White Queen.

She learned that the Jubjub bird had shed the feathers on her dress, and that it was kept at the top of this very tower with two guards ready to release it at a moment's notice.

She learned the Bandersnatch had its' own shed down in the courtyard where it guarded the Vorpal sword, and that its' face had scratches that couldn't be healed unless the blood of the attacker was rubbed into the wounds.

She learned that Ilosovic Stayne had brought the Oraculum to the Queen and that the Queen kept it in her chambers.

By the time she had learned these things, Calina had promised to keep her up to date with the happenings at the palace. If anything happened, Anna would know about it before even the Queen.

Calina chattered until they made their way out the door, where she became silent and nervous, jumping at the slightest vibration as she led Anna back to the great hall.

...

One again I beg for REVIEWS and thank you for reading my story despite its' flaws.

Sincerely,

May-B-Madd


	5. The Trip

**Chapter 5**

_The Trip_

Liza was frankly sick and tired of tea. The people she was having tea with were quite interesting, but the tea itself was a constant that Liza really didn't see as worth drinking. She preferred plain milk if she could get it, and to her mixing milk and tea was abominable, especially if you had been drinking it for weeks on end.

Liza took another sip of the watered down milk and listened as the group of three friends, plus the visiting Chessur, yammered on about the goodness of the White Queen. The past three weeks had been filled with much of the same thing. Drink tea, talk about the greatness of the White Queen, berate the big headed Red Queen, and break out in to spontaneous song, then collapse in exhaustion, and repeat.

"When the White Queen rises to power once again things will be far better than they are under the Red Queen." Said a yawning Mally as she brandished her hatpin sword valiantly while balancing precariously from the top of a misshapen teapot.

"You'll have to introduce me to this White Queen. I've only ever heard you talk about her, and I'd very much like to meet her." Said Liza dreamily.

"Why don't we start towards Momoreal then?" asked Chess as he floated upside-down above the Hatter's hat, his tail curling possessively over the edge.

"That's a splendid idea!" said the Hatter, his bowtie turning just a little more yellow than usual and perking up slightly. "The Oraculum is bound to be there as Absolem said he would go there near Frabjous day . It could tell us something about Alice!"

"What are we waiting for then?" asked Liza, her eyes lighting up. "It can be a quest!"

"A Quest!" said Mally her sword shining as she pointed it towards the sky.

"A Quest!" said the Hatter, his eyes growing brighter by the moment.

"Fork." said the March Hare as he got up from his chair, eyes trained on the utensil in his paw.

"You should know better than to give them ideas, dear." said Chess as he appeared in front of her.

Liza giggled and pulled him into her arms and began to scratch him behind the ears .

"Chess," said Mally, pausing as she climbed onto the brim of the Hatter's hat, "are you purring?"

"Now we know why he's stuck around so long." Said the Hatter as he stared wide eyed at the limp Chessur.

"Why did we never think of that?" Asked Mally rhetorically as the Hatter placed his hat gently on his head.

The Hatter made an unsure gesture as Chessur's purring filled the early morning mist of the clearing.

The group made their way away from the windmill and out into the Tulgey Wood and towards the southwestern grasslands, where the White Castle of Marmoreal held the expectant White Queen.

It was almost noon when they group heard the telltale crashing that signaled the arrival of the Bandersnatch with the afternoon patrol. The patrol was designed to keep the members of the rebellion against the Red Queen from joining Mirana at the White Castle, and to prevent Mirana from contacting anyone on the outside. Unless you could run faster than the Bandersnatch , it was very effective.

"Run!" yelled Mally from the edge of the Hatters' hat. She leapt downwards, scampering as fast as she could ahead of the rest of the group. Chessur evaporated and reappeared hovering every few feet in front of Liza, as though to make sure his ear scratcher didn't get caught. The March Hare held his ears down frantically as he ran madly toward Marmoreal and the protection of the true Queen.

Even fueled by adrenalin they could hear the wheezing breaths of the Bandersnatch behind them and they could smell its frumious stench as they sprinted.

Then Liza tripped. She lay there splayed out on the sun warmed earth as the Bandersnatch reached out for her. Just as his claws were about to pin her to the dust at the border of Marmoreal, an expertly thrown hat pin burrowed its' way into the great black pad of the Bandersnatches foot.

As Chessur placed a single paw on her shoulder , Liza saw the card soldiers of the Red Queen surround the yellow eyed Hatter. Then she felt herself turn into individual particles of Liza and reform moments later in a courtyard filled with flowering trees and shimmering white.

The last thing Liza remembered seeing was the concerned face of a lady in white, and the Chessur's concerned cerulean gaze.

...

A shorter chapter, but hopefully it's not disappointing in any other way. REVIEW or PM me if you want to comment.

Sincerely,

May-B-Madd


	6. The Truth

**Chapter 6**

_The Truth_

The last thing Anna expected that evening was the Mad Hatter being dragged in by his arms , hat askew on his head, to be dropped in front of the Red Queen like a package of brightly wrapped meat. His hat fell off of his head as he was dropped unceremoniously to the floor in front of the Queen's throne .It rolled off to the side and behind the curtains that pooled at the edge of the dais.

Anna caught the eye of her maid, who was hiding in the curtains, and looked at the hat for a moment before looking her in the eye again. The maid nodded and picked up the hat before slipping away through a servants door.

"What is this?" asked the Queen, her voice penetrating the previously clear air.

"We found him trying to cross the border into Marmoreal with four others. The other four got away, but the Bandersnatch caught him as he tried to escape." said one of the red knights informatively as he bowed.

"Anything else?"

"My Queen," Anna said, "it's the Mad Hatter. If you don't want him might I have him? He is after all quite mad. And I'm sure I can keep him in line. I've kept an entire family of bloodhounds under control haven't I? I want to prove to you that I can help keep your less than faithful subjects in line. You shouldn't have to dirty your hands after all. You are the Queen. Leave all the nasty things to me."

The Queen gave her the look of a child indulging their favorite pet with an essentially worthless treat.

"Guards, take the Hatter up to the rooms where the bloodhound and his family are being kept and shackle him there. Lady Beth is quite right. He isn't worth my time. He's all yours Beth dear."

"Thank you my Queen! Your greatness is absolutely amazing! You are far smarter than I am! Is there anything I can do for you? Train him to make you a hat on command?"

"No, go ahead and play with your new toy."

Anna rose and made eye contact with one of the guards before she exited the main hall. He nodded slightly and when he shuffled out with the other guards he turned and went out into the Bandersnatch's courtyard.

When he arrived he found Anna removing the hatpin from the Bandersnatch's enormous foot with great delicacy. The Bandersnatch whimpered slightly as the pin was tugged out, then hesitantly placed his paw on the cobblestone. His beady eyes, covered in healed clawmarks, brightened joyfully as he panted the warm air.

"Lady Anna."

"Parin, don't call me a lady. Now,what actually happened?"

"We were chasing five figures during our morning patrol,a mouse, a hare, a cat, the Hatter, and a girl with blond hair. The girl tripped, and the Hatter threw the hatpin into the Bandersnatch's paw to stop him from capturing the girl. Then the cat evaporated the girl away and we lost sight of the others in the grass. The Bandersnatch refused to go on with and injured foot, so we brought the Hatter back here."

"Thank you , Parin. If you need anything let me know and I'll see what I can do."

"Of course, Lady Anna."

He shuffled off, his armor making his footsteps clumsy as he passed Calina, the maid that had helped Anna that first day.

"How many times have I told you all that I'm not a lady of any kind?"

"Many times, my lady."

"Not you too!"

Calina smiled and curtseyed teasingly.

"You are all mad."

"Not as mad as you are. Living here and planning what you're planning."

"I know. Brilliant isn't it? Now what did you do with the hat?"

"It's in on your desk. I couldn't enter the rooms with Bayard and his family without arousing suspicion."

"Thank you Calina. Go ahead and go get yourself some dinner. I don't want to keep you too long."

The maid curtseyed again, more respectfully this time, and drifted off to the dining hall.

Anna stroked the scratches she had left on the Bandersnatch's nose absently until he pulled away to curl around the chest holding the Vorpal sword. Then she looked at her ink stained fingers and began to make her way into the Red Queen's castle. Her feet traveled well-worn stone pathways until she reached the stairs, then she climbed up three stories and turned left into her hallway.

Her rooms lined the hallway. The Queen had given her an entire floor of the palace to do with as she pleased, even Stayne stayed away from her area. He had to learn the hard way that Anna carried out her threats. Admittedly, a broken nose wasn't that big of a deal, but it had shown that Anna's aim with heavy objects was extremely accurate.

Anna turned the heart shaped doorknob that led her room quietly. Bayard's room was right next door, and the pups tended to need more sleep than their adult counterparts.

She looked around and immediately located the hat. It was rather difficult to miss after all.

She picked it up and ran her fingers along the pattern covered material. It had been dreadfully charred, and the fabric had repaired many times. The peach colored silk of the scarf tied around the hat was clean and well cared for. There were hat pins of every kind sticking jauntily from both sides and a piece of waxy paper stating "10/6" was crinkled in between the hat and the coral cloth of the scarf.

Anna almost placed the hat on her own head, but redirected her arms just in time. It wasn't her hat after all. She did however, pluck a single peacock feather hatpin from the material and place it delicately on her desk.

Then she exited the room, hat under her arm, and opened the door of the room to her right silently. The Hatter was on the bed, his face towards the wall and his breathing deep.

Bayard looked up from the dog pile in front of the flickering fireplace, then wiggled carefully out and over to the heart shaped window. Anna slipped inside and set the hat carefully on the nightstand, before making her way over to join Bayard.

"How is he?" she murmured as she knelt down to his level.

"He was exhausted when he got ranted for a while and collapsed on the bed. He hasn't woken up since, at least not that we've noticed."

"This is our chance Bayard. Stayne is having dinner with the Red Queen in two days. If we can get the Oraculum and the Vorpal sword out during that time I'm sure Liza will take the place of Alice as Champion."

"What about the Bandersnatch and the Jubjub bird?"

"They'll be protecting you, your family, the Hatter, and everyone else as you run. Just make sure that you make use of this opportunity, it will only come once and you'll only have one chance."

"You still haven't told us what this distraction will be."

"You don't want to know. To put it mildly she's going to be very, very angry, so angry in fact that the entirety of her large head will be a nasty shade of puce."

"Sometimes I think you're madder than our Hatter."

She smiled, her green eyes nearly glowing in the moonlight.

"Perhaps, but I'm also very good at hiding my madness."

"Or exchanging one type of madness for another."

"Yes." She whispered, her voice drifting silkily off into the darkness surrounding them, "I'll inform everyone that the plan is commencing in two days, when Stayne has dinner with the Queen. You have to get the Hatter ready. Don't tell him it was me who planned this if you can. He won't trust me."

"Very well, my lady."

"Not you too!" she whispered, annoyed, "Everyone is starting to call me 'my lady' or 'Lady Anna'. I am not a lady!"

Bayard resisted the urge to chuckle at her irate expression.

"Go get some sleep ,Lady Anna. You need it."

"Honestly! Goodnight, Bayard."

She exited, and Bayard once again wriggled into the dog pile in front of the fire.

Niether one of them noticed the hand that reached over to the nightstand and placed the hat on the bed next to a face that held a wide open pair of glowing green eyes.


	7. The Tale

**Chapter 7**

_The Tale_

When Liza woke up she was surrounded by white. At first she honestly thought she was dead. Then an obnoxious voice cut that idea down before it grew any larger.

"Well, someone is finally awake." Drawled the voice of the Chessur.

"Hey, Chess." She said before she bolted upright,"The Hatter! Is he alright!"

"No idea. He was taken to the Red Queen's castle."

Chessur evaporated in front of her, his blue eyes glittering in the sun that drifted in through the window.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A little over two days. I've been here making sure nothing disturbed you."

"More like stopping yourself from disturbing me."

"Well, there was an incident with a rather menacing teapot."

"I'm not sure I want to know, Chess."

"I'm sure you don't."

"Chessur?"said a melodic voice from the doorway, "Is she awake yet?"

Then a woman dressed in white glided in. Her entire figure was engulfed in white. Add a crown and this lady could be a wedding cake frosted in sparkling sugar crystals.

Liza rubbed her eyes, blinked twice, and promptly inquired after the woman's' identity.

"Why darling, I am Mirana, the White Queen of Marmoreal."

"Were you the person who fed me that vile potion?"

"Yes."

"You really need to work on the flavor of those things. What is that noise?"

They trio paused for a moment and listened to the urgent baying that was coming from the north end of the castle. Then the three of them rushed to the entrance to watch as an army of refugees wearing red filtered slowly through the entranceway.

The mournful shrieking of the Jubjub bird and the baying of the bloodhounds leading the way announced the arrival of Tarrant Hightopp, the Mad Hatter, who was riding the Bandersnatch.

"Tarrant! What is going on?" asked Mirana urgently as she gave written orders to a maid to find rooms for all of the new guests.

Tarrant Hightopp looked up, his eyes a depressing shade of blue as he slid off of the Bandersnatch. Then, he knelt and presented the Queen with the Vorpal sword.

"It's a story that will take a long time to tell, your majesty."

"What is this story about, Tarrant?"

"A kinfe, the Oraculum, and the Vorpal sword."

"Anna did something didn't she." Said Liza quietly, her voice barely audible in the rush of refugees.

"Aye, lass. Somethin' mad, insane, absurd, ludicrous, senseless-"

"Hatter!"

"Sorry." He choked out before he rose,"We'd best go inside before I begin my tale. We'll want to be comfortable."

It was a few minutes later that they, McTwisp, Mally, and Bayard were seated comfortably in chairs, and the Hatter began his story.

… … … ….

Tarrant Hightopp, the Mad Hatter, was thinking. Or he was trying to. His thoughts were flying every which way, but they all ended in the same place. Annabeth Ableman was not allied with the Red Queen, and she was planning to steal the stolen Oraculum and Vorpal sword. Today.

The chain on his ankle clanked noisily as his feet whirred as quickly as his thoughts. Bayard and his family were watching him amusedly as he wore a hole in the carpet.

The door clicked open and one of the Red Queens soldiers let in a very nervous Nivens McTwisp. The white rabbit was carrying not only a set of twisted iron keys, but the ancient looking scroll that was the Oraculum.

"Nivens!" yelped Bayard,"It's started then?"

"Yes, yes, it has! We'd best be going! Not enough Time!"

Nivens hopped hurriedly over and unlocked the shackles that kept the group bound to the room. His paws shook so hard that Tarrant thought he might have to open the shackles himself, but Nivens succeeded and the group of them made it outside undetected to where the Bandersnatch watched over the sleeping Vorpal sword.

The Bandersnatch saw them coming and abruptly bared his collar to the group, allowing them to see and retrieve the key hanging there. Then the Hatter made his way over to the chest containing the Vorpal sword and took a single crucial moment admiring the blade.

It was white-silver, with ornate designs along its blade and a handle that was twisted and was surrounded by a teardrop spiral of glinting silver. It thrummed as he picked it up, as though it was eager to be used.

He exited the hut quickly and found most of the Red Queens palace outside rushing towards the gates.

"Bayard!" shouted Anna, her voice rising over the uproar of fleeing civilians, "you and your family lead them to Marmoreal! Parin, free the Jubjub bird! Get everyone out quickly! The Queen won't be distracted for long!"

The air was abruptly filled with the panicked shriek of the Red Queen.

"After them! Traitors! All of them! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"

"Don't worry about the soldiers! They're with us! Just hurry quickly to Marmoreal! Hatter! You're in charge of the Vorpal sword! Bandy!" The Bandersnatch growled and bent low for the Hatter to mount. Anna patted him gently on his scarred nose as the Hatter lifted himself and the Vorpal sword up onto the Bandersnatch's broad back.

"I'll be right behind you. Make sure there are no stragglers." She said to the Bandersnatch. Then she looked up straight into Tarrant's eyes and he noticed a familiar hat pin sticking haphazardly out of her hair. Then the Bandersnatch ran as a throwing knife slid through her chest.

She reached up, staining her inky fingers crimson, and turned to face Ilosovic Stayne.


	8. The Transport

**Chapter 8**

_The Transport_

Annabeth Ableman was having a bad day. It was a very good day for everyone else, they had made it to Marmoreal without a problem, even the ones that hadn't known about the escape plans. They had just gone with everyone else.

But Anna just had to go and get herself stabbed by a bloodthirsty Knave.

So maybe telling the Queen about Stayne's little meetings with the ladies of the court hadn't been the most brilliant plan, but it did succeed for everyone else. That, she supposed, was a very good thing.

"You tricked me." came the pointed voice of Iracebeth of Crims, as she stood imperially at the top of the stairs. She looked extremely offended, her expression that of a haughty heiress.

Anna grinned, her un-brushed hair , with its' peacock feather hatpin , frizzed wildly around her face.

"Why, yes. Yes I did. It was quite fun."

"My Queen," said Stayne, creeping down the rugged stone of the stairs,"she is mad. There is no other explanation. No one else would have challenged you in your own palace."

"But there's no one else in the palace now." Said Anna, her voice bright, "Just us three and the Jabberwocky. Everyone else left, because they despised you."

The Queens face was a sickening cherry red until Stayne leaned over and calmed her. Then she patted him on the cheek and smiled at Anna.

"Yes, and the Jabberwocky and my Knave will be joining you and I out on the battlefield tomorrow. Where everyone will watch as you are eaten. Every last ink stained finger will be digested by my beloved Jabberwocky."

Anna's grin grew broader until it was reminiscent of Chessur. Then she laughed. She laughed until tears of mirth streamed from her eyes.

"Then I'll have to destroy your beloved Jabberwocky from the inside out. You don't know what's going to happen, you don't have the Oraculum anymore."

The Red Queen's face flooded with an almost purple hue as she turned and stormed off, her head wobbling dangerously on her shoulders.

Ilosovic Stayne glared at her before he swept off after his queen, his cape billowing menacingly behind him.

After they were gone, Anna's tears of mirth rapidly disintegrated into tears of dread. She didn't want to die. She was only nineteen, but she would be the only one dying, at least she hoped so.

The White Queen had the Vorpal sword and the Oraculum. They would succeed, without Alice. If her life could make that possible, so be it.

"Well, you _are _alive. Liza said you would and made me go check. It seems she was right."

"Hello, Chessur. Is Liza doing well?"

"She is. She's learning how to evaporate. She's turning out to be rather good at it. She can't go far yet though."

"Good. Now all she needs is a tail and a pair of ears and you'll be two of a kind."

Chessur slipped into the cell, a wide grin on his face.

"Or maybe a potion," he purred ,"she would make an excellent cat."

"Well, I suppose you need to be going back then."

"Or I could get you out of this ce-"

The door opened, and Chessur evaporated.

Ilosovic Stayne stood at the top of the step, two sets of manacles dangling from his gloved hands. He was grinning like Chessur had been just moments before. Iracebeth of Crims, strutted behind him, her dress swaying with the motion of her pacing.

Stayne made his way down the steps, unlocked the cell and chained her ankles and her wrists together before escorting her forcefully up the stairs. He was very nearly dragging her by the time they reached the Bandersnatch's courtyard.

The doors to the shed were hanging limply open, and there was still blood from where Stayne had thrown the knife. It had been a lucky throw for her. There hadn't been anything important where the knife had slipped in between her ribs, and while it still bled even now, it wasn't enough to do more than throb with the pulsing of her heart and ooze a few more drops of blood.

"Where is my lovely Jabberwocky?" inquired the Queen, glancing fleetingly around the courtyard.

"He is waiting for us at the battleground, my Queen." Said Stayne smoothly as he drove Anna forward, prodding at the wound his knife had inflicted.

"Horses?"

"They're all gone, your majesty."

"Then get a wagon of some kind, _she _can pull me there."

Stayne opened on of the doors lining the courtyard and pulled out a handcart. I was, as everything was, red and heart shaped. It was also extremely heavy looking.

Anna could feel her eyebrows going up against her will as the Queen sat inside of the cart, dress fluffing around her. The Queen fluttered her hand at Anna, who reluctantly arranged herself to pull the cart, her chest throbbing miserably.

Well, she was getting there at least.


	9. The Tussle

**Chapter 9**

_The Tussle_

At first, no one was sure what the tiny pink tinted dot on the horizon was. Then, as it drew closer and the fuzzy outline became clearer, they could see the abominably tall form of Ilosovic Stayne, and the overly bulbous head of the Red Queen. It was quite a while more before they could see the determined figure pulling the cart to the battlefield.

When they could finally see Anna tugging resolutely at the cart, the group of soldiers that had been at the Red Queens castle gave a roar of rage and exultation, their green armor rippling with the incandescence of peacock feathers.

Somehow , Anna managed to pull the cart to the opposite side of the battlefield where she collapsed back against the cart, revealing her blood soaked dress.

The Bandersnatch snarled, the Jubjub bird shrieked, and the Hatter's eyes began to turn a predatory yellow.

Iracebeth took her Knave's hand and stepped down from the cart as elegantly as she could.

Mirana stepped down from her horse, and the two of them met in the center of the black and white battlefield. McTwisp stood between them, ready to proclaim the chapter in history to the waiting combatants.

"Hello, Iracebeth." said the White Queen, her voice quiet.

"." replied Iracebeth, never looking her sister in the face.

McTwisp took this as his queue and blew out a rapid fanfare on his horn.

"On this, the Frabjous day, the Queens, Red and White, shall send forth their champions to do battle on their behalf."

"Iracy, we don't have to fight." said Mirana, extending her hand to her sister.

"I know what you're doing." said Iracebeth darkly,"You think that you can blink those pretty little eyes, and I'll melt. Just like Mummy and Daddy did."

"Please?"

"NO!It's my crown! I am the eldest!"

Mirana flinched back, and Iracebeth scrambled back to the cart and yanked Anna forward harshly, showing her to Mirana.

"This shall be the first to die! JABBERWOCKY!"

The two queens backed away silently. Mirana returned to Liza and the Hatter.

"Did the two of you ever decide who was going to be the champion?" asked Mirana elegantly.

"I am," said Liza," Hatter decided he wants the Knave. Of course we thought we'd be fighting soldiers along with the Jabberwocky, but they're all wearing green."

"Why green?"

"Because it's the opposite of red. They thought it suited Anna best."

"I see."

There was a horrid cracking noise, like bones snapping, and the Jabberwocky settled itself in McTwisp's rapidly vacated spot. Shadows writhed around it as though tormented by their master's presence, and the Jabberwocky's gleaming red eyes blazed in its' shallow sockets.

Iracebeth backed up as the Jabberwocky leant down and prepared to burn Anna to a crisp.

Anna, running on some sort of survival instinct, jumped up onto the Jabberwocky's spiky head and held on for dear life, like a stubborn burr.

Liza ran out as quickly as she could in full armor and stabbed the Jabberwocky's tail with the Vorpal sword. The sword stuck, Liza did not. The Jabberwocky's tail whipped her across the battlefield and into a group of green clad soldiers that fell against one another like dominoes.

Anna, shackles jingling merrily, clambered up the thrashing Jabberwocky's head, down his neck, and past his wings to his barbed, snakelike tail. She clung there for a moment then shuffled clumsily down the squirming extremity towards the Vorpal sword.

When she reached it, she tore it from the Jabberwocky's tail like a thorn, and rolled off to the side.

Her chains rattled as she stood, Vorpal sword in hand, armorless, to face the infuriated Jabberwocky.

"You, both of my old foes, fight me at once?"

"Sorry?" said Anna, more than a little confused.

"The Oraculum and the Vorpal sword, girl." he snarled, eyes glittering," You bear them both. The Oraculum ink on your fingers and the Vorpal sword in your hands, I shall defeat them both!"

Anna stumbled away as fast as she could with the shackles on her feet. She was nearly hopping away.

"This is your Champion, sister? She can't even move properly!" said Iracebeth joyfully.

"An' who's faul' is tha' ye slurvish scumbag!" shouted the Hatter from the far end of the field.

Stayne smiled ominously and drew his sword to face the Hatter.

"Why, it's mine. I put her in those shackles."

Tarrant made his way to the center of the field, away from the thrashing champions, and tossed his hat gently to the side. His eyes were almost completely yellow as he faced the Knave, his claymore held expertly in front of him.

Anna paused for a moment and looked at the two combatants before scrambling out of the way of the Jabberwocky's bleeding tail.

"Liza? Is he wearing a kilt?"

"You're fighting for your life, in chains, with a legendary sword and you notice a hatter in a kilt."

Anna grinned and scrambled breathlessly up the stairs.

"So he _is_ wearing a kilt. I had to double check. It's not every day you see a hatter wearing a kilt you know."

"Concentrate on the Jabberwocky you senseless moron!"

"Jabberwocky? What Jabberwocky?"

"That Jabberwocky!"

Anna ducked , her manacles snagging on one of the Jabberwocky's long teeth. He flung her up into the air and opened his mouth beneath her.

She fell straight into his throat, sword in hand, legs sticking awkwardly out of his mouth.

Being on the inside of a Jabberwocky is not pleasant. It stinks of rotting meat and sulfur and it covered whatever was there with acidic Jabberwocky saliva.

Anna, wanting to get out of that place as quickly as possible, took the Vorpal sword, stabbed the Jabberwocky through the neck, and sawed. When she had a large enough opening she reached over and pulled herself out of the jagged hole and on to the ground next the dead and partially decapitated monster.

She looked over at the only other combatants on the field just in time to see Tarrant Hightopp, the Mad Hatter in a kilt, barely stop himself from killing the Knave of Hearts. She would have laughed at the terrified expression on Ilosovic Stayne's mutilated face, but she had just been taken from a dungeon, hauled a handcart who knows how far, and slayed a Jabberwocky, all while bleeding from a wound on her chest.

So Annabeth Ableman collapsed. She didn't see the banishing of Iracebeth of Crims and her Knave to the outlands. She didn't see the Tarrant Hightopp lift her cautiously onto the back of the badersnatch before getting on himself to make sure she didn't fall off. She didn't see the worried faces of the soldiers in green as they marched after their bloody and exhausted Lady.

She didn't know that despite being battered and worn out, the peacock feather hatpin was still perched precariously in her hair, and that the Mad Hatter noticed it and tugged it gently out as she was taken away to be cared for by the White Queen, her grimy hair dangling limply over the edge of the stretcher.


	10. The Terrace

**Chapter 10**

_The Terrace_

Anna had been sleeping for three days before she woke up to find herself completely clean and laying on a white bed in a white room with white floors and white, well, everything. She wasn't sure what horrified her more, the fact that someone would have had to clean her everywhere, or the fact that there was no color.

She sat up slowly, her entire body aching abominably as her muscles contracted. She slipped stiffly out from under the covers and walked over to the white door at a brisk snails' pace.

She stepped out into the hallway and looked around silently before hobbling off towards the laughter she heard to her right. The chortling grew louder as she exited the hallway onto a patio. It was a marble patio, and the stone had veins of silver slithering through it like glistening rivulets of water.

Making her way tentatively down the steps she followed the laughter deeper into the maze of a garden until she came upon a familiar sight.

There were three mismatched tables set up on the grass. They were covered in a bright patchwork of tablecloths and misshapen dishes of all kinds. The White Queen sat at one end of the table, her pinky extended as she drank her tea from a delicate teacup. Chessur and Liza were sitting next to each other, their tea cups contorted and one of a few matching pair. Mallymkun and Thackery Earwicket, the March Hare, were squabbling ceaselessly on the other side of the tables. The seat closest to her was an armchair, and it had a telltale hat peeking over the back of the ragged cloth.

Anna smiled and began to back up slowly, until she backed up into a rather fluffy green dress. She turned around slowly to look at the infuriated face of her maid, Calina.

"You are supposed to be in bed!" she shrieked, her voice reminiscent of the Jubjub bird," Imagine how distressed I was when I came in to check on you and your door was open and you were GONE!"

"Now, Cally,-"

"Don't you 'Now Cally' me! Why I thought someone had gone and stolen you! I-" Calina continued advancing forward and Anna shuffled awkwardly backwards, her white nightgown surprisingly opaque in the bright sunlight. Calina backed her right into the back of the Hatter's chair and Anna had to shuffle around it.

She had almost made it to the border of the table when Calina let out a rather earsplitting shriek in her loud tirade.

Anna abruptly fell backwards over the arm of the chair and onto the Hatter's lap. The tea party went silent as Anna, still in her nightgown, looked at the Hatter and choked out a muffled apology.

"You're late for tea!" warbled the March Hare as he threw a plate towards the duo. Anna's hand snatched it out of the air and placed it delicately on the table as she rose carefully from the Hatter's knees.

"How do you do that?" asked Liza absently as she stared at the plate.

"I just do," winced out Anna as she hobbled over to her friend, "Could you tell me what happened?"

"Well," said Liza as she deviously pulled out a chair next to the Hatter for her friend," after you fainted Iracebeth and Stayne were banished. The Jabberwocky is dead. You have your own following; they call themselves the Green Guard. They officially serve Queen Mirana, but everyone knows they'd follow you over her any day. We can't go back to England. Normally we would have used Jabberwocky blood to go back, but you have Oraculum ink imprinted into your fingers and I can evaporate, so we're stuck. And you have been given the title of the Champion of Underland. Most people call you the Green Lady though."

"Why green?"

"It's the opposite of red, and you have the most amazing green eyes. Don't you agree Tarrant?"

"I'll have to take a look." Their eyes met and they stared for an endless moment.

"If you think I have amazing eyes then you've never paid attention to his." Anna said, and then abruptly turned a subtle pink as she turned away.

Tarrant was startled into silence as she made her excuses and limped off with Calina supporting her.

"Perhaps," said the White Queen subtly ,"when she is feeling better you can invite her to tea Tarrant."

"I think I will. Maybe she knows why a raven is like a writing desk." He said thoughtfully.

Mirana and Liza looked at each other, their eyes sparkling mischievously as they sipped their tea. Mirana discreetly unrolled the Oraculum under the table. Several years of Mirana's serene rule in the future it showed the Mad Marriage of one Annabeth Ableman, who was wearing an eccentric looking hat with a peacock feather hatpin, to one kilt clad Tarrant Hightopp.

...

This story is now "complete" and remains open for editing at any time.

-May


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